Aircraft are manufactured in many sized and configurations, from ultralights to large cargo jet military aircraft. With the advent of new materials, aircraft structures can carry much higher loads, but such aircraft are still susceptible to the effects of winds and waves. The major dynamic force which causes the destruction of moorings, fittings and attachments for aircraft and ships, is the dynamic shock which occurs in the movement or swing caused by slack in the tie-down lines. The more slack that is present in a tie-down line, the greater the swing of the wing, or ship, and the greater the impact of the shock at the fitting between the tie-down line and the aircraft or ship.
Similarly, rough water causes a moored vessel to rise and fall, pitching the bow and stern to port and starboard, and thereby tugging on the mooring lines. Each "tug" causes the fibers in the line to elongate and fatigue, thereby allowing the moored vessel more freedom to move and tug at the mooring fittings.
With aircraft tie-downs, it is common in the prior art to utilize tie-downs of linked chain with snap hooks at each end. Hemp rope and nylon straps and steel cables are alternative tie-downs known to the inventor to be utilized to tether aircraft. Yachts and commercial vessels typically use large diameter ropes or the like for mooring the vessel. In both cases, however, no shock mitigation is typically utilized, other than the elasticity inherent in the tie-down itself.